Vehicle fire protective cover

Abstract

A fire protection external vehicle cover including a plurality of panels of a fire retardant material or textile. Each panel is configured to cover an adjacent portion of the cabin of the vehicle; with one or more panels including a retention mechanism to secure the panels by gripping between closed doors and door frames of the cabin. A storage and deployment mechanism is configured to store and deploy the cover from one or more locations on the vehicle; wherein in operation, when deployed, the cover forms an enclosure over the cabin thereby protecting external surfaces of the cabin and thus its occupants and an internal lining of the vehicle from exposure to radiant heat, burning embers and flames if the vehicle is moving through or becomes trapped in a fire.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A fire protection external vehicle cover that withstands being exposed to a temperature of at least 600° C. during part or the entire duration of a burn over event to protect occupants in a vehicle from physical injury or death for a minimum of 20 minutes from radiant heat, burning embers and flame impingement infiltrating the cover from a fire during a burn over event when the vehicle is stationary in the fire for the duration of the burn over event to protect occupants in a vehicle, the cover comprising:
 a plurality of reflective panels of a heat dissipating and/or thermal insulating material or textile; each panel configured to cover a portion of the cabin of a vehicle to provide protection, from radiant heat, burning embers and flame impingement from the wild fire contacting the reflective panels, to the occupants of the vehicle and to glass sections of the vehicle from shattering under intense heat when the vehicle is stationary in the fire for the duration of the burn over event, the plurality of panels including a base panel having dimensions that correspond to the roof of the vehicle cabin, one or more side panels having dimensions that correspond to the side of the vehicle cabin which are connected to opposing sides of the base panel, the side panels adapted to extend over opposed sides of the vehicle cabin such that the cover confirms to the shape of the cabin; 
 a retention means, including straps or tags, which extends between and connects adjacent panels; the retention means are also extendible into the vehicle cabin between vehicle doors and door frames, and accessible by an occupant within the cabin to secure and adjust the panels against the cabin; 
 storage and deployment means for storing and deploying the cover from one or more locations on the vehicle, wherein the storage deployment means comprises one or more containers mounted on a roof of the vehicle which stores the cover in a rolled up or folded up configuration; 
 wherein, when deployed, the panels are secured to the cabin by an occupant within the cabin gripping the straps or tags between a closed door and a door frame of the cabin and the base panels and side panels are tensioned by tightening the straps or tags from within the cabin such that each panel contacts the cabin and can be held taut against the cabin by the retention means to minimize gaps between the cover and the cabin to form an enclosure, 
 wherein at least one portion of the panels overlaps with a portion of another of the panels, 
 wherein the heat dissipating and/or thermal insulating material or textile is constructed from a fiber reinforced material, and 
 wherein the fibers of the fiber reinforced material include para-aramid synthetic fibers, glass fibers, carbon fibers, silica fibres or aramid fibers, ceramic fibres, vermiculite fibres or any combinations thereof. 
 
     
     
       2. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein at least one panel includes a flap that covers at least part of an adjacent panel. 
     
     
       3. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein at least one side panel includes an open cuff that is arranged to extend inward of an outer face of the side panel and overlay the outer face of the side panel to form an elongate opening to receive two or more edges of the vehicle door. 
     
     
       4. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein at least one side panel includes a flap that covers at least part of an adjacent panel and an open cuff that is arranged to extend inward of an outer face of the side panel and overlay the outer face of the side panel to form an elongate opening to receive two or more edges of the vehicle door such that the cover can be secured to the vehicle cabin using the cuff while the flap overlaps with an adjacent panel to provide protection between the panels. 
     
     
       5. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein at least one edge of the panels includes a gusset that connects to an adjacent panel. 
     
     
       6. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein the retention means extends between and is connected to the base panel and the side panel. 
     
     
       7. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein the retention means is connected to a flap or an open cuff extending from the base panel and the side panel. 
     
     
       8. The cover of  claim 1 , including openings to allow an occupant to see the external environment, wherein the cover further includes flaps to close the openings during a burn over. 
     
     
       9. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein the material or textile is a reflective single or multi-layered thermal insulating and/or heat dissipating fabric. 
     
     
       10. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein the material or textile includes a metallised layer. 
     
     
       11. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein the material or textile has a density ranging from 400 to 2,000 gsm. 
     
     
       12. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein the material or textile has a thickness ranging from 0.2 to 5 mm. 
     
     
       13. The cover of  claim 1 , wherein the base panel consists of a roof panel, front window panel and rear window panel. 
     
     
       14. The cover according to  claim 1 , wherein deployment of the cover is rapidly effected under gravitational means when the cover is released from the storage and deployment enclosures. 
     
     
       15. The cover according to  claim 1 , wherein the storage and deployment means includes a mechanical aid to effect rapid deployment of the cover. 
     
     
       16. The cover assembly according to  claim 1  wherein the plurality of panels includes at least one side panel connected to an end of the base panel. 
     
     
       17. The cover assembly according to  claim 15  wherein the mechanical aid includes a plurality of torsion springs. 
     
     
       18. The cover assembly according to  claim 17  wherein the plurality of torsion springs have varying strengths and are configured to unfold the panels in a successive predetermined order from the base panel. 
     
     
       19. A fire protection external vehicle cover that withstands being exposed to a temperature of at least 600° C. during part or the entire duration of a burn over event to protect occupants in a vehicle from physical injury or death for a minimum of 20 minutes from radiant heat, burning embers and flame impingement infiltrating the cover from a fire during a burn over event when the vehicle is stationary in the fire for the duration of the burn over event to protect occupants in a vehicle, the cover comprising:
 a plurality of reflective panels of a heat dissipating and/or thermal insulating material or textile; each panel configured to cover a portion of the cabin of a vehicle to provide protection, from radiant heat, burning embers and flame impingement from the wild fire contacting the reflective panels, to the occupants of the vehicle and to glass sections of the vehicle from shattering under intense heat when the vehicle is stationary in the fire for the duration of the burn over event, the plurality of panels including a base panel having dimensions that correspond to the roof of the vehicle cabin, one or more side panels having dimensions that correspond to the side of the vehicle cabin which are connected to opposing sides of the base panel, the side panels adapted to extend over opposed sides of the vehicle cabin such that the cover confirms to the shape of the cabin; 
 a retention means, including straps or tags, which extends between and connects adjacent panels; the retention means are accessible by an occupant within the cabin to secure and adjust the panels against the cabin; 
 storage and deployment means for storing and deploying the cover from one or more locations on the vehicle, wherein the storage deployment means comprises one or more containers mounted on a roof of the vehicle which stores the cover in a rolled up or folded up configuration; 
 wherein, when deployed, the panels are secured to the cabin by an occupant within the cabin gripping the straps or tags between a closed door and a door frame of the cabin and the base panels and side panels are tensioned by tightening the straps or tags from within the cabin such that each panel contacts the cabin and can be held taut against the cabin by the retention means to minimize gaps between the cover and the cabin to form an enclosure, 
 wherein at least one portion of the panels overlaps with a portion of another of the panels, 
 wherein the heat dissipating and/or thermal insulating material or textile is constructed from a fiber reinforced material, 
 wherein the fibers of the fiber reinforced material include para-aramid synthetic fibers, glass fibers, carbon fibers, silica fibres or aramid fibers, ceramic fibres, vermiculite fibres or any combinations thereof, 
 wherein the material or textile includes a metallized layer that reflects at least 70% of radiant heat, 
 wherein the material or textile has a density ranging from 400 to 2,000 gsm, and 
 wherein the material or textile has a thickness ranging from 0.2 to 5 mm.